The present invention relates to a roller shutter type storage container having an opening in a container body that is selectively opened and closed by sliding a roller shutter in guide grooves.
A roller shutter type storage container may be used as a storage container mounted in a center console of a vehicle. Refer to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publications No. 2003-90186 and No. 2002-87167. The roller shutter type storage container includes a container body, a roller shutter accommodating portion, a pair of guide grooves, and a roller shutter. The container body has an upper opening. Objects or items may be placed in or removed from the storage container through the opening. The roller shutter accommodating portion accommodates the roller shutter at an unobtrusive position. The roller shutter accommodating portion is arranged in the exterior of the container body and at a position adjacent to the container body. The guide grooves are formed on both sides of the container body and the opening of the body in the widthwise direction of the container body. Specifically, the widthwise direction is a direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the container body and the roller shutter accommodating portion. Each of the guide grooves is defined by a vertical wall surface extending substantially perpendicular to the widthwise direction and a pair of opposing lateral wall surfaces extending substantially perpendicular to the vertical wall surface. At the opening, each guide groove extends linearly as a whole. In contrast, in the roller shutter accommodating portion, at least a portion of the guide groove is curved in such a manner as to minimize the accommodating space for the roller shutter.
The roller shutter has a plurality of slats, which are arranged in the arrangement direction of the container body and the roller shutter accommodating portion. Each adjacent pair of the slats is connected together in a bendable manner. A shaft is provided at either end of each of the slat in the widthwise direction and extends outward in the widthwise direction. By sliding the shafts of each slat in the corresponding guide grooves, the roller shutter is moved between an open position, at which the roller shutter is accommodated in the roller shutter accommodating portion to open the opening, and a close position, at which the roller shutter extends out from the roller shutter accommodating portion to close the opening.
Each of the shafts includes a projection formed of soft material, which projects toward at least one of the upper and lower lateral wall surfaces. The projection is referred to as a “contact portion” in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2003-90186 and a “bumper portion” in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-87167. Each one of the projections is joined to the corresponding one of the shafts at the two ends of the projection in the arrangement direction of the container body and the roller shutter accommodating portion. Each projection is formed in an arcuate shape in such a manner as to become more spaced from the corresponding shaft as the distance from the ends of the projection increases, and most spaced from the shaft at the middle position of the projection. The projections contact the corresponding lateral wall surface of the guide groove in an elastically deformed manner.
In the above-described roller shutter type storage container, the opening is selectively opened and closed by sliding the roller shutter between the open position and the close position. During this, the two shafts of each slat slide in the guide grooves. In other words, when the shafts slide in the guide grooves while being guided by the guide grooves, the roller shutter is caused to slide to selectively open and close the opening. Sliding resistance is produced between each projection and the corresponding lateral wall surface when the roller shutter slides, thus causing load on sliding operation of the roller shutter, which is operational load. The operational load is a factor that greatly influences operational sensation when the roller shutter is operated and is thus important.
In the conventional roller shutter type storage container in which the projections of the shafts project toward the corresponding lateral wall surface, each projection must deform to follow the shape of the curved portion of the corresponding guide groove when passing through the curved portion. This correspondingly increases the sliding resistance generated between the projection and the lateral wall surface compared to the sliding resistance produced when the shaft proceeds in the linear portion of the guide groove. As a result, even though the sliding resistance between each projection and the corresponding guide groove is appropriate in the linear portion of the guide groove, the sliding resistance becomes excessively great in the curved portion of the guide groove.
The operational load thus increases when the shafts slide in the curved portions of the guide grooves in the roller shutter accommodating portion, compared to when the shafts slide in the linear portions of the guide grooves in the opening. This deteriorates the operational sensation. The operational load becomes even greater as the number of shafts sliding in the curved portions of the guide grooves increased, or, in other words, as the opening becomes greater.
Also, the sliding resistance in the curved portion of each guide groove becomes greater as the radius of curvature of the curved portion becomes greater, or, in other words, as the curved portion curves to a greater extent. As a result, the operational sensation is deteriorated with more significance in the guide grooves having a greater radius of curvature.